Computer-Implemented, User-Controlled Method of Automatically Organizing, Storing, and Sharing Personal Information

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented infrastructure providing a consistent graphical user interface that supports user-controlled organizing, storing, accessing and sharing of heterogeneous personal information of a specific user uses computer processes executed by a server system. The computer processes include receiving a set of items of information from a computing device operated on behalf of the specific user; for each item of information in the received set of items, obtaining, as a result of parsing the received set of items, new information; using the new information, and other user information stored in association with an internal account of the specific user, to produce derived information; and storing the new information and the derived information, in a storage system in communication with the server system, and associating such stored item of information with an internal account of the specific user.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/975,087, filed Oct. 27, 2022, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,720,803, which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/669,999, now U.S.Pat. No. 11,494,664, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 62/755,191, filed Nov. 2, 2018. Each of theseapplication is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to computer-implemented methods ofinformation handling, and more particularly to computer-implemented,user-controlled method of automatically organizing, storing, and sharingpersonal information.

BACKGROUND ART

It is known in the prior art to provide a central storage facility foran individual to manually cause storage of personal information in arepository. See for example published US application US2014/0033327A1.

SUMMARY OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In a first embodiment of the invention there is provided acomputer-implemented infrastructure providing a consistent graphicaluser interface supporting user-controlled organizing, storing,accessing, and sharing of heterogeneous personal information of aspecific user. In this embodiment, the infrastructure uses computerprocesses executed by a server system, and the computer processesinclude:

-   -   receiving a set of items of information from a computing device        operated on behalf of the specific user, wherein receiving the        set of items of information includes receiving information        selected from the group consisting of (i) a digital file        defining a set of images, (ii) a digital file defining a        document, (iii) external account information of the specific        user, (iv) textual information provided by manual input, (v) a        digital file defining a video recording, (vi) a digital file        defining an audio recording, (vii) digital data associated with        communication across an API, and combinations thereof;    -   for each item of information in the received set of items,        obtaining, as a result of parsing the received set of items, new        information including an information type and a set of data        fields pertinent to the information type;    -   feeding to an artificial intelligence engine the new        information, and other user information stored in association        with an internal account of the specific user, in order to        produce, from the artificial intelligence engine, derived        information selected from the group consisting of contact        information, event information, inferred information, and        relationships between the new information and the other user        information; and    -   storing, with respect to each item of information, the new        information and the derived information, in a storage system in        communication with the server system, in an encrypted format,        and associating such stored item of information with an internal        account of the specific user and with the corresponding        information type and set of data fields;    -   wherein the stored items of information are made accessible only        in accordance with permissions controlled by the specific user.

In a further related embodiment, the computer processes further compriseparsing by the server system the received set of items to derive theinformation type and the set of data fields. Alternatively, or inaddition, the information type and the set of data fields are determinedby parsing by the computing device, and the computer processes furthercomprise receiving, by the server system, data characterizing theinformation type and the set of data fields. Also alternatively, or inaddition, the derived information further includes a set of contextualcategories pertinent to components of the new information and thederived information, wherein a contextual category is assigned to acomponent based on specific attributes of the component, and distinctcomponents are permitted to be assigned distinct contextual categoriesthat depend on attributes of the components, and each component has aset of contextual categories, and storing the new information and thederived information further includes storing each component ofinformation with its corresponding set of contextual categories. Alsoalternatively, or in addition, the computer processes further include,before storing new information and derived information that arepertinent to a specific item of information, causing sharing of the newinformation and the derived information in accordance with a defaultuser sharing selection. Also alternatively, or in addition, the computerprocesses further include, before storing new information and derivedinformation that are pertinent to a specific item of information,generating a prompt to the specific user to make a selection concerningsharing preferences applicable thereto, storing a response of thespecific user thereto, and causing sharing of such informationaccordingly.

In a related embodiment, the default user sharing selection for anygiven component of information is based on a subset of contextualcategories to which the given component has been assigned. Optionally,the subset of contextual categories is selected from a global set ofcontextual categories and the categories in the global set arehierarchically arranged.

In a further related embodiment, upon receiving a selection from thespecific user relating to a specific account asset of the user, thecomputer processes include causing display, on a computing device of thespecific user, of a set of representations of members selected from thegroup consisting of contextual categories and information typespertinent to the specific account asset of the user, wherein the displayincludes pertinent information currently associated with the specificaccount regardless whether added by the specific user or by any otherperson or originating elsewhere and shared with the specific user.

In another related embodiment, the computer processes further include,upon receiving a selection from the specific user relating to a specificcontextual category of the user, causing display, on a computing deviceof the specific user, of a set of representations of members selectedfrom the group consisting of contextual categories and information typespertinent to the specific account asset of the user, wherein the displayincludes pertinent information currently associated with the specificaccount regardless whether added by the specific user or by any otherperson or originating elsewhere and shared with the specific user.

In another related embodiment, the artificial intelligence engine is asoftware component executing on the server system. Alternatively, theartificial intelligence engine is a software component executing on thecomputing device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing features of embodiments will be more readily understood byreference to the following detailed description, taken with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a high-level process flow block diagram of an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing information flow, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention, of the task 12 of FIG. 1 ,wherein the information type and set of data fields are obtained byparsing by an artificial intelligence engine, which is executed eitheron the computing device or the server system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing information flow, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention, of the task 13 of FIG. 1 , whichobtains derived information from an artificial intelligence engine.

FIG. 4 is a relationship diagram of an embodiment of the presentinvention showing relationships among new information and relatedassociations derived by task 13 of FIG. 1 , where the set of items ofinformation is a driver's license.

FIGS. 5A through 5F are a series of representations of screensexperienced by a user, showing an aspect of the user interface on auser's computing device, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, by which a driver license is added by the user to the user'saccount.

FIGS. 6A though 6F are a series of representations of screensexperienced by a user, showing an aspect of the user interface on auser's computing device, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, by which a set of three documents is uploaded by the user.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing operation of the processes of FIG. 1 , inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in processinginformation extracted from the driver's license of FIGS. 5A through 5F.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing process flow, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention, by which received items ofinformation, and new items of information and derived information arehandled in relation to encryption, storage, permissions, sharing, andaccess.

FIG. 9 is block diagram showing a hierarchy of contextual categories, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, used inorganizing personal information of a user, in this case informationassociated with the user's driver's license.

FIG. 10 is a representation of a screen experienced by a user, showingan aspect of the user interface on a user's computing device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, by which a userdefines default permissions for a family member who in this case is aspouse of the user.

FIG. 11A is a representation of a screen experienced by a user, showingan aspect of the user interface on a user's computing device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, by which a userlinks accounts with a family member or anyone else in the user's networkto instantly share information therewith.

FIG. 11B is a representation of a screen experienced by a user, showingan aspect of the user interface on a user's computing device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, by which a userconfirms or changes permissions for a family member with respect toinformation that has been newly added to the account.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of how default permissions aredefined based on a set of permissions assigned to hierarchicallyarranged contextual categories.

FIGS. 13A through 13E are a series of representations of screensexperienced by a user, showing an aspect of the user interface on auser's computing device, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, by which the user causes display of information related to anaccount asset of the user.

FIG. 14 is a diagram of high level system architecture of an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows the home screen of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying categories of personal information that can be managed andshared consistently via the user interface, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows a main category screen of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying sub-categories of personal information that can be managedand shared consistently via the user interface, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 17A-C show contextual category screens of an aspect of the userinterface displaying consistently contextual categories of personalinformation that can be managed and shared via the user interface, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 18A-D show information list screens of an aspect of the userinterface displaying consistently lists of specific types of personalinformation, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 19A-C show information screens of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying consistently parameters of personal information that can bemanaged and shared via the user interface, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 20A and 20B show search screens of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying consistently search results across heterogeneous types ofpersonal information for the user, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 21 shows a notification screen of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying consistently notifications across heterogeneous types ofpersonal information for the user, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 22 shows a sharing screen of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying consistently heterogeneous types of personal informationshared with the user's network, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Definitions. As used in this description and the accompanying claims,the following terms shall have the meanings indicated, unless thecontext otherwise requires:

A “set” has at least one member.

A “computing device” is a device in including a microprocessor andmemory configured to execute instructions, such as, but not limited to,a desktop computer, a mobile telephone, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, a smart watch (such as an Apple Watch), and an intelligenthome assistant (such as Alexa from Amazon).

A computing device is “operated on behalf of a user” if the device isoperated by a user, or is operated by another individual who is usingthe computing device to communicate information that is pertinent to theuser, and is to be stored as information accessible to the user via aninternal account of the user.

A “computer process” is the performance of a described function in acomputer using computer hardware (such as a processor,field-programmable gate array or other electronic combinatorial logic,or similar device), which may be operating under control of software orfirmware or a combination of any of these or operating outside controlof any of the foregoing. All or part of the described function may beperformed by active or passive electronic components, such astransistors or resistors. In using the term “computer process” we do notnecessarily require a schedulable entity, or operation of a computerprogram or a part thereof, although, in some embodiments, a computerprocess may be implemented by such a schedulable entity, or operation ofa computer program or a part thereof. Furthermore, unless the contextotherwise requires, a “process” may be implemented using more than oneprocessor or more than one (single- or multi-processor) computer.

An “artificial intelligence engine” is a computer process, whichoptionally includes a process that is developed by training of a machinelearning system, that performs tasks requiring inference from datacontained in an item of information or derived information from the itemof information.

An “item” of information is any unit of information selected from thegroup consisting of (i) a digital file defining a set of images, (ii) adigital file defining a document, (iii) external account information ofthe specific user, (iv) textual information provided by manual input;(v) a digital file defining a video recording, (vi) a digital filedefining an audio recording; (vii) digital data associated withcommunication across an API, and combinations thereof.

An “information type” of an item of information is a broad categorycharacterizing the item of information in a manner that defines how toclassify the information and to determine what set of data fields willbe relevant in describing the item of information. By way of example,information types include, a will, a blood type, a bank account, adriver's license, a pass card, a coupon, a prescription, a shoppinglist, an automobile registration, a deed, a lease, etc.

“Parsing” a received item of information includes extracting, from thereceived item of information, an information type and a set of datafields. Depending on the type of items of information, the method ofextracting the information type and the data fields will vary. Forinstance, in embodiments of the present invention, for a set of images,optical character recognition (OCR) techniques are used to extract rawtext information, which is then processed by an artificial intelligenceengine to derive the information type and the data fields. As anotherexample, embodiments of the present invention include processes ofreceiving items of information, in a record that includes data fieldsand an information type, from a manual data input; and this receivedinformation is then immediately ready to be processed by an AI engine asfurther described in this application.

An “internal account” of the user is an account of the user, provided inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, associated withstoring and accessing information, on a server system, with a computingdevice operated on behalf of the user.

“External account information” includes information associated with anaccount (such as a bank account, mortgage account, membership account,or subscription account), other than an internal account, to which theuser has access, such information including, among other things, anumber or other identifier for the account, data associated withtransactions made with the account, etc.

“Inferred information” is information inferred, by an artificialintelligence engine, from new information provided as an input to theengine in the context of other user information stored in associationwith an internal account of the specific user. As an example, if the newinformation is a driver's license of the specific user, the inferredinformation may include the specific user's principal address.

An “event” is something that can happen at a specific date or time. Anevent can be a one-time only event, or a recurring event. In embodimentsof the present invention, an item of information may be associated withone or more events, which can be identified on parsing of theinformation. Examples of events include renewal dates associated withone or more received items of information, such as dates for renewing aprescription, or a driver's license, vehicle registration, or petregistration; also expiration dates, and dates and times for reminders(such as for feeding a pet or paying estimated taxes or takingmedications).

An “action” is a special type of event associated with a specific taskneeded to be performed by the user or by the server system at a specificdate and time. Examples of actions include the following tasks: (i)confirming contact information of important contacts as defined by theuser or by metadata associated with information types, (ii) specifyingbeneficiaries when a will or equivalent is added to the user internalaccount, (iii) resetting passwords when passwords are added to a user'sinternal account, etc. In this context, an “important contact,” forexample, may be a contact related to estate planning, including abeneficiary, a legal guardian, or a financial advisor, a real estatelender, etc.

A “contact” is a person or a business entity. The owner of an internalaccount is a contact. Any family member is a contact. Any person orbusiness entity identified by an item of information is a contact.Information capable of being used for communicating with a contact, suchas a physical address, e-mail address, telephone number, or Skype name,is “contact information.”

A “contextual category” is a classification of a component ofinformation that is obtained, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention, after an item of information has been received by theserver system, as derived information from an artificial intelligenceengine that has processed the item of information. A contextual categoryis assigned to a component based on specific attributes of thecomponent, and distinct components are permitted to be assigned distinctcontextual categories that depend on attributes of the components, andeach component has a set of contextual categories. The contextualcategories are assigned in accordance with a taxonomy that provides aunifying context for similar components of information. In an embodimentof the present invention, the contextual categories are hierarchicallyarranged, but in a manner wherein a child category can have more thanone parent category, and a parent category can have multiple childcategories. For example, a driver's license may be in the contextualcategories “travel documents” and “identity” and “vehicles.” Similarly,the contextual category “travel documents” may include not only thedriver's license but also a passport, visas, Global Entry passes,airplane tickets, etc.

An “account asset” is a contextual category that has a meaning ofparticular significance to a specific user on account of its role in thelife of the user; an “account asset” may, but need not, have a physicalexistence in the world, and can be animate or inanimate, digital ortemporal, and can have different information types associated with it.An “account asset” may include, for example, a particular residence, aparticular vehicle, a particular item of jewelry or art (like a watch ora painting), an electronic appliance, a bank account, a life insurancecontract, a year (for taxes for instance), a pet, a person, etc.

A “user interface” is a set of commands or menus through which a userinteracts with a computer program. A user interface may becommand-driven such that the user enters commands, menu-driven such thatthe user selects command choices from various menus, or a combinationthereof. A user interface may be a “graphical user interface” thatgraphically displays to the user windows, icons, pop-up menus, etc. on acomputer screen.

Modern life is increasingly complex. The days of our grandparentswalking to their local bank for all their financial needs—mortgages,banking, credit, insurance—are over. Today, we work with an average of7.2 different financial service institutions across 8.5 differentproducts/services. Our families are increasingly non-traditional andmore spread out, often requiring management of information acrossfamilies, ex-spouses, aging parents, and children living across theglobe. We have digital insurance cards, paperless statements andpasswords to add to the already extensive list of physical documents,government IDs, healthcare information and more. The information to bemanaged lives within apps on our mobile phones, files on our computers,folders within file cabinets and papers on our desks.

The challenge is how to keep track of it all, to gain access to what weneed, when we need it, to ensure family, friends and trusted advisorshave private access to what they need and to secure it all under theuser's exclusive control. The tools available today, like Dropbox,Evernote, password managers, etc., are not built to solve the problem.The solution requires new set of tools that are dynamic, namely builtwith intelligence, connectivity, and control, and designed to makemanaging life simpler, computer-implemented, and more effective.

To address such challenges, some embodiments of the present inventionfunction as a curation engine that provides an interface layer via adistinctively structured computer environment to the vast and everchanging world of personal information. These embodiments provide aplatform (server system) having a computer-implemented infrastructure,operated under user control, by which a use can provide, organize,categorize, manage, control, access, and disseminate personalinformation (digital and physical) within personal, private networks offamily, friends, trusted advisors, etc. The personal informationorganized within the user-controlled infrastructure of these embodimentsis comprehensive, including information related to a user's home,vehicles, healthcare, finances, etc. The infrastructure of theseembodiments organizes such personal information into categories orcollections (e.g., “Home and Auto”), which may be further organized intosub-categories or sub-collections (e.g., “Vehicles”, “Driver's License”,etc.). The infrastructure of these embodiments also secures suchpersonal information with end-to-end encryption to prevent unauthorizedaccess to the information. The platform of these embodiments furtheridentifies and analyzes a user's personal information to derive relatedinformation and notify the user of events associated with theinformation, such as when to update a passport or renew a carregistration. Features of these embodiments include computer-visionaided identification and input of physical documentation and AI-drivenorganization and categorization of the personal information.

The infrastructure of these embodiments enables each user to form apersonal, private network of family, friends, trusted advisors, etc. bywhich the user can share the user's personal information. Theinfrastructure of these embodiments sets controls and permissions as towho in the user's personal private network has authorization to accessparticular items of the user's personal data, so as to secure, instantfree flow of that information to the people within the user's personalnetwork that need access to it. In some embodiments, the controls andpermissions may be set for a category or sub-category in which theuser's personal information is organized, or set for a particular itemof personal information. An individual in the user's network may loginto the platform from any electronic device (from a smartphone to adesktop computer), anywhere, and at any time to access the items of theuser's personal information that the individual has authorization toaccess.

For example, an insurance representative may be a trusted advisor in auser's network and the user may set permissions to share with theinsurance representative information organized under particularcategories, including “Insurance” and “Home”. The insurancerepresentative may log into the platform at any time and access theuser's personal information associated with these categories to approvean insurance policy for the user. The user may, in addition, accessitems of personal information shared with the user by other individualsin the user's personal network. For example, the user may accessinformation shared by the insurance representative.

FIG. 1 is a high-level process flow block diagram of an embodiment ofthe present invention. The embodiment of FIG. 1 is executed by a serversystem that has a computer-implemented infrastructure for receiving,organizing, categorizing, securing, and sharing any personal information(physical or digital) of users. In computing process 11, the serversystem receives a set of items of information from a computing deviceoperated on behalf of a specific user. The set of items of informationincludes information selected from the group consisting of (i) a digitalfile defining a set of images, (ii) a digital file defining a document,(iii) external account information of the specific user, (iv) textualinformation provided by manual input, (v) a digital file defining avideo recording, (vi) a digital file defining an audio recording, (vii)digital data associated with communication across an API, andcombinations thereof. In process 12, for each item of information in thereceived set of items, the server system obtains, as a result of parsingthe received set of items, new information including an information typeand a set of data fields pertinent to the information type. In process13, the server system feeds to an artificial intelligence engine the newinformation and other user information stored in association with aninternal account of the specific user, in order to produce, from theartificial intelligence engine, derived information selected from thegroup consisting of contact information, event information, inferredinformation, and relationships between the new information and the otheruser information. The artificial intelligence engine in this embodimentis a component of the server system. In process 14, the server systemprompts the user to confirm or change the values of the new and derivedinformation. In process 15, the server system stores, with respect toeach item of information, the (confirmed or changed) new information andthe derived information, in a storage system in communication with theserver system, in an encrypted format, and associates such stored itemof information with an internal account of the specific user and withthe corresponding information type and set of data fields. In process16, the server system administers permissions so that the stored itemsof information are made accessible only in accordance with permissionscontrolled by the specific user.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the information flow, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention, of the task 12 of FIG. 1 ,wherein the information type and set of data fields are obtained byparsing by an artificial intelligence engine, which is executed eitheron the computing device or the server system. Information typedefinitions 22 stored in the taxonomy database 21 are used to train anartificial intelligence engine 23. The artificial intelligence engine 23(located on the computing device or on the server system) receives a setof items 24 and determines an information type and a set of data fields25. The information type and set of data fields 25 are then fed into theprocess 13 of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing information flow, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention, of the task 13 of FIG. 1 , whichderives information from an artificial intelligence engine. The newinformation 31, relevant metadata information 32, and other userinformation stored in association with an internal account of thespecific user 33, is fed to an artificial intelligence engine 34, beinga component of the server system, in order to produce, from theartificial intelligence engine, derived information 35 selected from thegroup consisting of contact information, event information, inferredinformation, and relationships between the new information and the otheruser information. The derived information is then fed to the process 14of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is a relationship diagram of an embodiment of the presentinvention showing relationships among new information and derivedinformation by task 13 of FIG. 1 , where the set of items of informationis a driver's license. As described in FIG. 3 , the artificialintelligence engine, being a component of the server system, producesderived information from the group consisting of new information,metadata information, and other user information stored in associationwith an internal account of the specific user. In this example of thedriver license, the derived information is a contact 41, with itsassociated data fields, which can be the name and date of birth; and aresidence 42, with its associated data fields, which can be the streetaddress. The artificial intelligence engine also produces associations(represented by lines 44, 45 and 46) between the new information (thedriver license 43), and the derived information (the contact 41 and theresidence 42).

FIGS. 5A through 5F are a series of representations of screensexperienced by a user, showing an aspect of the user interface on auser's computing device, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, by which a driver license is added by the user to the user'saccount.

FIG. 5A shows the home screen on the computing device, by which a userselects the “plus” (+) icon 51 to add information to his internalaccount.

FIG. 5B shows the screen on the computing device, by which a userselects “Smart Scan” 52 from a list of options that additionally include“Upload Document,” “Add Account Info,” and “Add Milestone.”

FIG. 5C shows the screen on the computing device, by which a user clickson the camera button 53 to take a picture of the front side of thedriver license, which would typically have been placed on a table orsimilar flat surface. In a further related embodiment, the cameradetects the edges of the document (the driver's license) and takes thepicture automatically.

FIG. 5D shows the screen on the computing device by which a user clickson the camera button 54 to take a picture of the back side of the driverlicense, similarly placed on a table or similar flat surface. In thefurther related embodiment, again, the camera detects the edges of thedocument (the driver's license back side) and takes the pictureautomatically.

FIG. 5E shows the screen on the computing device displaying theinformation type and the set of data fields 55 extracted during process12 of FIG. 1 . This process is also described in connection with FIG. 2, in relation to parsing of the received set of items (the driverlicense) to derive the information type and the set of data fields. Inthis FIG. 5E, the user confirms the information type and the set of datafields by clicking on the prompt “The info is correct” 56. The user canalso change the information type or some of the data fields by clicking“Edit” on this screen.

FIG. 5F shows the screen on the computing device with some of thederived information produced by the artificial intelligence engine inprocess 13 of FIG. 1 . An alert event 57 has been derived from theexpiration date data field, with a reminder automatically set for 30days in advance, based on the information type definitions 32 of thetaxonomy database. A set of contextual categories 58 pertinent tocomponents of the new information is also shown. The display also showsa set of contextual categories 59 pertinent to components of the derivedinformation. (FIG. 7 also shows a summary of the new and derivedinformation in the example of a driver's license.)

FIGS. 6A though 6F are a series of representations of screensexperienced by a user, showing an aspect of the user interface on auser's computing device, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, by which a set of three documents is uploaded by the user.

FIG. 6A shows the home screen on the computing device by which a userselects the “plus” (+) icon 61 to add information to his internalaccount.

FIG. 6B shows the screen on the computing device by which the userselects “Upload Document” 62 from the list of options.

FIG. 6C shows a screen on the computing device by which the user selectsthe location 63 of the set of digital files to be uploaded to the serversystem.

FIG. 6D shows a screen on the computing device by which the user selectsthe digital files 64 to be uploaded to the server system.

FIG. 6E shows a screen on the computing device by which the userconfirms by selecting the Okay icon 65, the set of digital files to beuploaded to the server system.

FIG. 6F shows a screen on the computing device by which the user isinformed that the set of items of information is being sent by thecomputing device to the server system and is being processed on theserver system, (and a notification will be sent to the user of theinternal user account when the processing is completed and ready to bereviewed by the user). Once the user confirms, the process flow of FIG.1 is then started, with the server system receiving the set of items ofinformation as indicated by process 11 of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing operation of the processes of FIG. 1 , inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in processinginformation extracted from the driver's license of FIGS. 5A through 5F.In process 12, in this example, the new information obtained 71 includesthe information type “US-CA driver's license” and the data fieldsconsisting of the name, the license number, the address, the date ofbirth and the expiration date. In process 13, still in this example ofthe driver's license, the derived information 72 includes a new derivedevent “Expiration”; a new derived contact “Tom Smith”; a new derivedresidence and the derived associations between the contact, theresidence and the driver's license, as represented also by FIG. 4 .

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing process flow, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention, by which received items ofinformation, and new items of information and derived information arehandled in relation to encryption, storage, permissions, sharing, andaccess. The items of information, the new information and the derivedinformation, as represented by 87 in FIG. 8 , are encrypted by process81, and then stored by process 82 in a storage system 83 incommunication with the server system. Based on the account permissions84, the process 85 then creates the permissions for access control,which are then stored in the access control data store 86.

FIG. 9 is block diagram showing a hierarchy of contextual categories, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, used inorganizing personal information of a user, in this case informationassociated with the user's driver's license. Based on the attributes ofthe components of the new information and the derived information, a setof contextual categories 91 are derived. The new information “Tom'sdriver license” 92 has an information type “Driver licenses” 93 that isassociated to the derived information residence “Main residence”, thederived information contact “Tom” and to derived contextual categories“Vehicles” and “Travel documents”. Additionally, the derived informationresidence is associated in a hierarchical manner to a contextualcategory “Properties”, and the derived information contact is associatedin a hierarchical manner to a contextual category “Identities”.

FIG. 10 is a representation of a screen experienced by a user, showingan aspect of the user interface on a user's computing device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, by which a userdefines default permissions for a family member who in this case is aspouse (Mary) 101 of the user (Tom). A predefined list of hierarchicallyarranged contextual categories 102 is showed to the user. Permissions103 can be assigned at any levels of contextual categories. For example,permissions can be defined at the “Home & Auto” level, which wouldinclude all contextual categories hierarchically under the “Home & Auto”contextual category. As further example, when permissions are, asbefore, defined at the “Home & Auto” level, the permissions at a lowerlevel of contextual categories, such as “Vehicles” and “Education,” canbe modified. FIG. 10 shows this further example where the user Tomassigned “Edit” permissions to Mary at “Home & Auto” level, and thenchanged the lower level contextual categories “Vehicles” and “Education”to have permissions “Private”. These permissions are then used, beforestoring new information and derived information that are pertinent to aspecific item of information, for sharing of the new information and thederived information in accordance with these default user sharingselections.

FIG. 11A is a representation of a screen experienced by a user, showingan aspect of the user interface on a user's computing device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, by which a userlinks accounts with a family member or anyone else in the user's networkto instantly share information therewith.

FIG. 11B is a representation of a screen experienced by a user, showingan aspect of the user interface on a user's computing device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, by which a userconfirms or changes permissions for a family member with respect toinformation that has been newly added to the account. The generatedprompt to the specific user, to make a selection concerning sharingpreferences for the specific items of information, shows the list offamily members 111 defined in the user's internal account. The user canthen specify permissions 112 for the new information and derivedinformation that are pertinent to a specific item of information,causing sharing of such information accordingly.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of how default permissions aredefined based on a set of permissions assigned to hierarchicallyarranged contextual categories. As described in the example of FIG. 9 ,the driver license is directly or indirectly associated to differentcontextual categories, including “Vehicles” and “Properties”. FIG. 12shows an example where “edit” permission 121 has been assigned to thecontextual category “Home & Auto” and “private” permission 122 has beenassigned to the lower level contextual category “Vehicles” (which is achild of “Home & Auto). Since the contextual category “Properties” isalso a child of the contextual category “Home & Auto”, and since nospecific permission has been assigned to the contextual category“Properties”, as in example showed in FIG. 10 , the permission “edit”from the parent contextual category “Home & Auto” is inherited (asindicated by dashed arrow 123) by the child contextual category“Properties” 124. Since the driver license is associated to both“Vehicles” and “Properties” 125, the most permissive permission “edit”is then defined as the default permission for the specific set of newand derived information, for the specific family member.

FIGS. 13A through 13E are a series of representations of screensexperienced by a user, showing an aspect of the user interface on auser's computing device, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, by which the user causes display of information related to anaccount asset of the user.

FIG. 13A shows an example of an account asset of the user where theaccount asset is a contact. In this example, the screen shows all theinformation related to “Tom”, the account asset, which consists ofmembers selected from the group consisting of contextual categories andinformation types pertinent to the specific account asset. It includesinformation added by the specific user of the internal account,information added by other users for the specific user of the internalaccount, and information shared by family members of the specific userof the internal account, all related to the specific account assetcontextual category. For instance, and in further clarification, the“passport” may have been added by “Mary,” a family member of Tom'sfamily, into her own internal account, and shared with Tom.

FIG. 13B shows an example of an account asset of the user where theaccount asset is a residence. In this example, the screen shows all theinformation related to “Main Home”, the account asset, which consists ofmembers selected from the group consisting of contextual categories andinformation types pertinent to the specific account asset. It includesinformation added by the specific user of the internal account,information added by other users for the specific user of the internalaccount, and information shared by family members of the specific userof the internal account, all related to the specific account assetcontextual category. For instance, and in further clarification, the“Mortgage” may have been added by “Mary”, a family member of Tom'sfamily, into her own internal account, and shared with Tom.

FIG. 13C shows an example of an account asset of the user where theaccount asset is a vehicle. In this example, the screen shows all theinformation related to “Audi Q7”, the account asset, which consists ofmembers selected from the group consisting of contextual categories andinformation types pertinent to the specific account asset. It includesinformation added by the specific user of the internal account,information added by other users for the specific user of the internalaccount, and information shared by family members of the specific userof the internal account, all related to the specific account assetcontextual category. For instance, and in further clarification, the“Registration” may have been added by “Mary”, a family member of Tom'sfamily, into her own internal account, and shared with Tom.

FIG. 13D shows an example of an account asset of the user where theaccount asset is a bank account. In this example, the screen shows allthe information related to “Tom & Mary Checking”, the account asset,which consists of members selected from the group consisting ofcontextual categories and information types pertinent to the specificaccount asset. It includes information added by the specific user of theinternal account, information added by other users for the specific userof the internal account, and information shared by family members of thespecific user of the internal account, all related to the specificaccount asset contextual category. For instance, and in furtherclarification, the “Account Details” may have been added by “Mary”, afamily member of Tom's family, into her own internal account, and sharedwith Tom.

FIG. 13E shows an example of an account asset of the user where theaccount asset is a life insurance. In this example, the screen shows allthe information related to “Life Insurance”, the account asset, whichconsist of members selected from the group consisting of contextualcategories and information types pertinent to the specific accountasset. It includes information added by the specific user of theinternal account, information added by other users for the specific userof the internal account, and information shared by family members of thespecific user of the internal account, all related to the specificaccount asset contextual category. For instance, and furtherclarification, the “Account Details” may have been added by “Mary”, afamily member of Tom's family, into her own internal account, and sharedwith Tom.

FIG. 14 is a diagram of high level system architecture of an embodimentof the present invention. The diagram shows a high-level representationof three components of the server system, the data pipeline 141, thefoundation platform 142 and the user management platform 143. Thefoundation platform includes an administrative tool 144 for users of thecompany to define and manage the taxonomy database 145, which includesthe definition of information types, the hierarchical definition of thecontextual categories, the definition of account assets and otherconcepts utilized by the different components of the server system,including the artificial intelligence engines in processes 12 and 13 ofFIG. 1 . The user management platform includes server components exposedin an API 146 to encrypt and store information into the internal accountof the user and to control and store permissions assigned to informationof the specific user. The data pipeline is the set of processes toautomatically organize, store, and share personal information of aspecific user, which includes the processes 11 to 16 of FIG. 1 .

In embodiments of the present invention, a computer-implementedinfrastructure provides a consistent graphical user interface whichsupports user-controlled management and sharing of heterogeneouspersonal information of the user. The user interface enables managementand sharing of any type of personal information obtained by theinfrastructure in a consistent manner. FIGS. 15-22 are representationsof screens of the user interface that provide such consistent managementand sharing across the user's heterogeneous personal information.

FIG. 15 shows the home screen of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying categories of personal information that can be managed andshared consistently via the user interface, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 15 , thedisplayed categories 1502 include “Home & Auto,” “Money,” “Health,” and“Insurance & Legal.” Each of the displayed categories 1502 ishighlighted to indicate that personal information of the user isavailable for that category. Using this screen, a user can add 1504 acategory, with respect to any personal information, to the user'saccount. The user can also select one of the highlighted categories1502, each associated with different personal information of the user,to access that personal information. The home screen also provides otheroptions 1506 with respect to the user's system account.

FIG. 16 shows a main category screen of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying sub-categories of personal information that can be managedand shared consistently via the user interface, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 16 , thedisplayed sub-categories 1604 are for the category “Home & Auto” 1602and include “Property,” “Identity,” “Membership,” “Pet,” etc. A set ofthe sub-categories 1604 are highlighted to indicate that personalinformation is available in each of those sub-categories. In theembodiment of FIG. 13 , the highlighted sub-categories are “Property,”“Vehicle,” “Identity,” “Travel,” “Membership Card,” “Shopping,” and“Password.” Using this screen, a user can add 1606 a sub-category, withrespect to any personal information, to the user's account. The user canalso select a sub-category 1604, each associated with different personalinformation of the user, to access that personal information. The maincategory screen also provides other options 1608 with respect to theuser's system account.

FIGS. 17A-C show contextual category screens of an aspect of the userinterface displaying consistently contextual categories of personalinformation that can be managed and shared via the user interface, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17A showsthe “Identity” contextual category screen, which includes a list 1704 ofcontextual categories of personal information related to users'identity, such as “Driver License,” “Passport,” etc. This contextualcategory screen also includes graphical representations 1702 of usersfor which identify information may be accessed, an option 1708 to addanother contextual category related to users' identity, and otheroptions 1706 related to the user's system account.

FIG. 17B shows the contextual category screen for “Bank or CC Account”personal information, which is displayed in a manner consistent with the“Identity” contextual category screen of FIG. 17A. The “Bank or CCAccount” contextual category screen of FIG. 17B includes a list 1714 ofcontextual categories of personal information related to a user'saccounts, such as “Bank Credit or Debit Card,” “Check Specimen,” etc.This contextual category screen also includes graphical representations1712 of accounts for which personal information may be accessed, anoption 1718 to add another contextual category related to the user'saccount, and other options 1716 related to the user's system account.

FIG. 17C shows the contextual category screen for “Pet” personalinformation, which is displayed in a manner consistent with the“Identity” contextual category screen of FIG. 17A and the “Bank or CCAccount” contextual category screen of FIG. 17B. The “Pet” contextualcategory screen of FIG. 17C includes a list 1724 of contextualcategories of personal information related to a user's pets, such as“Pet License,” “Pet Medal,” etc. This contextual category screen alsoincludes graphical representations 1722 of pets for which personalinformation may be accessed (which is currently blank), an option 1728to add another contextual category related to the user's pets, and otheroptions 1726 related to the user's system account.

FIGS. 18A-D show information list screens of an aspect of the userinterface displaying consistently lists of specific types of personalinformation for the user, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. FIG. 18A shows the information list screen for a user'smembership cards. The “Membership Card” information list screen of FIG.18A includes a list 1802 of the user's membership cards, such as“SHANGRILA SPA's Membership Card,” etc. This information list screenalso includes an option 1808 to add other membership cards and otheroptions 1804 related to the user's system account.

FIG. 18B shows the information list screen for a user's coupons, whichis displayed in a manner consistent with the “Membership Card”information list screen of FIG. 18A. The “Coupon” information listscreen of FIG. 18B includes a list 1812 of a user's coupons, such as“IKEA $35 off,” etc. This information list screen also includes anoption 1818 to add other coupons and other options 1814 related to theuser's system account.

FIG. 18C shows the information list screen for a user'spassword-protected accounts, which is displayed in a manner consistentwith the “Membership Card” information list screen of FIG. 18A and the“Coupon” information list screen of FIG. 18B. The “Password” list screenof FIG. 18C includes a list 1822 of the user's password-protectedaccounts, such as “Netflix,” etc. This information list screen alsoincludes an option 1828 to add other password-protected accounts andother options 1824 related to the user's system account.

FIG. 18D shows the information list screen for a user's bank and creditcard accounts, which is displayed in a manner consistent with the“Membership Card” information list screen of FIG. 18A, the “Coupon”information list screen of FIG. 18B, and the “Password” information listscreen of FIG. 18C. The “Bank or CC Statement” information list screenof FIG. 18D includes a list 1832 of the user's bank or credit cardaccounts, such as “Citigroup 453665427 1556582400000,” etc. Thisinformation list screen also includes an option 1838 to add other bankor credit card accounts and other options 1834 related to the user'ssystem account.

FIGS. 19A-C show information screens of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying consistently parameters of personal information that can bemanaged and shared via the user interface, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19A shows the informationscreen for a specific membership card of the user. The “Membership Card”information screen of FIG. 19A includes a list 1902 of parametersassociated with the specific membership card of the user Frank, such as“Card Number,” “Effective Date,” “Expiration Date,” etc. Thisinformation screen also includes the organization 1903 associated withthe specific membership card and other information 1904 (e.g., Ownerinformation) associated with the card. This information screen furtherincludes an option 1908 to add other membership card parameters andother options 1906 related to the user's system account.

FIG. 19B shows the information screen for a specific coupon of the user,which is displayed in a manner consistent with the “Membership Card”information screen of FIG. 18A. The “Coupon” information screen of FIG.19B includes a list 1912 of parameters associated with the specificcoupon of the user, such as “Offer,” “Effective Date,” “ExpirationDate,” etc. This information screen also includes the organization 1913associated with the specific coupon and other information 1914 (e.g.,Notes) associated with the coupon. This information screen furtherincludes an option 1918 to add other coupon parameters and other options1916 related to the user's system account.

FIG. 19C shows the information screen for a specific password-protectedaccount of the user, which is displayed in a manner consistent with the“Membership Card” information screen of FIG. 18A and the “Coupon”information screen of FIG. 19B. The “Password” information screen ofFIG. 19C includes a list 1922 of parameters associated with the specificpassword-protected account of the user Frank, such as “User Name,”“Password,” “PIN,” etc. This information screen also includes theorganization 1923 associated with the specific password-protectedaccount and other information 1924 (e.g., Owner) associated with theaccount. This information screen further includes an option 1928 to addother password related parameters and other options 1926 related to theuser's system account.

FIGS. 20A and 20B show search screens of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying consistently search results across heterogeneous types ofpersonal information for the user, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. In FIG. 20A, the user entered the search term“Golf” 2005 at the search window of the displayed search screen via thevirtual keyboard 2015. In response, the search screen caused a search tobe performed across the heterogeneous personal information associatedwith the user. The search found results that included different types ofpersonal information, such as membership card information, couponinformation, and password information. The search screen displaysconsistently the resulting different types of personal information, suchas “Golf Membership Account,” via display window 2010.

FIG. 20B shows a search screen displaying the results of the search ofthe term “Statement.” The search screen displays consistently, viacategory display window 2020, the search results from differentcategories of heterogeneous personal information, including “VehicleInsurance Statement,” “Home Insurance Statement,” “Mortgage Statement,”etc.

FIG. 21 shows a notification screen of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying consistently notifications across heterogeneous types ofpersonal information for the user, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. The displayed notifications include bothdocuments for review 2105 and alerts 2110. The notification screen ofFIG. 21 displays consistently notifications related to the heterogeneouspersonal information of a shopping list, a driver's license, and acoupon of the user.

FIG. 22 shows a sharing screen of an aspect of the user interfacedisplaying consistently heterogeneous types of personal informationshared with the user's network, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. The sharing screen of FIG. 22 shows both collections2205 of documents and individual documents 2210 that are being shared bythe user. The sharing screen displays consistently the sharedheterogeneous personal information of taxes, mortgage refinance,driver's license, diesel watch, etc.

The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to bemerely exemplary; numerous variations and modifications will be apparentto those skilled in the art. All such variations and modifications areintended to be within the scope of the present invention as defined inany appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented infrastructure providing aconsistent graphical user interface supporting user-controlledorganizing, storing, accessing and sharing of heterogeneous personalinformation of a specific user, the infrastructure using computerprocesses executed by a server system, the computer processescomprising: receiving a set of items of information from a computingdevice operated on behalf of the specific user, wherein receiving theset of items of information includes receiving information selected fromthe group consisting of (i) a digital file defining a set of images,(ii) a digital file defining a document, (iii) external accountinformation of the specific user, (iv) textual information provided bymanual input, (v) a digital file defining a video recording, (vi) adigital file defining an audio recording, (vii) digital data associatedwith communication across an API, and combinations thereof; for eachitem of information in the received set of items, obtaining, as a resultof parsing the received set of items, new information including aninformation type and a set of data fields pertinent to the informationtype; using the new information, and other user information stored inassociation with an internal account of the specific user, to producederived information selected from the group consisting of contactinformation, event information, inferred information, and relationshipsbetween the new information and the other user information andcombinations of any of the foregoing; wherein: (a) the derivedinformation further includes a set of contextual categories pertinent tocomponents of the new information and the derived information, acontextual category being assigned to a component based on specificattributes of the component, the contextual categories being assigned inaccordance with a taxonomy that provides a unifying context for similarcomponents of information, the taxonomy being hierarchically arranged ina manner wherein a child contextual category can have a plurality ofparent contextual categories; and (b) information type definitions arestored in a taxonomy database; storing, with respect to each item ofinformation, the new information and the derived information, in astorage system in communication with the server system, and associatingsuch stored item of information with an internal account of the specificuser and with the corresponding information type and set of data fieldsand causing the stored items of information to be made accessiblethrough the graphical user interface.
 2. An infrastructure according toclaim 1, wherein the computer processes further comprise parsing by theserver system the received set of items to derive the information typeand the set of data fields.
 3. An infrastructure according to claim 1,wherein the information type and the set of data fields are determinedby parsing by the computing device, and the computer processes furthercomprise receiving, by the server system, data characterizing theinformation type and the set of data fields.
 4. An infrastructureaccording to claim 1, wherein the derived information further includes aset of contextual categories pertinent to components of the newinformation and the derived information, wherein a contextual categoryis assigned to a component based on specific attributes of thecomponent, and distinct components are permitted to be assigned distinctcontextual categories that depend on attributes of the components, andeach component has a set of contextual categories, and storing the newinformation and the derived information further includes storing eachcomponent of information with its corresponding set of contextualcategories.
 5. An infrastructure according to claim 1, wherein thecomputer processes further comprise: before storing new information andderived information that are pertinent to a specific item ofinformation, causing sharing of the new information and the derivedinformation in accordance with a default user sharing selection.
 6. Aninfrastructure according to claim 1, wherein the computer processesfurther comprise: before storing new information and derived informationthat are pertinent to a specific item of information, generating aprompt to the specific user to make a selection concerning sharingpreferences applicable thereto, storing a response of the specific userthereto, and causing sharing of such information accordingly.
 7. Aninfrastructure according to claim 5, wherein the default user sharingselection for any given component of information is based on a subset ofcontextual categories to which the given component has been assigned. 8.An infrastructure according claim 7, wherein the subset of contextualcategories is selected from a global set of contextual categories andthe categories in the global set are hierarchically arranged.
 9. Aninfrastructure according to claim 8, further comprising, upon receivinga selection from the specific user relating to a specific account assetof the user, causing display, on a computing device of the specificuser, of a set of representations of members selected from the groupconsisting of contextual categories and information types pertinent tothe specific account asset of the user, wherein the display includespertinent information currently associated with the specific accountregardless whether added by the specific user or by any other person ororiginating elsewhere and shared with the specific user.
 10. Aninfrastructure according to claim 8, further comprising, upon receivinga selection from the specific user relating to a specific contextualcategory of the user, causing display, on a computing device of thespecific user, of a set of representations of members selected from thegroup consisting of contextual categories and information typespertinent to the specific account asset of the user, wherein the displayincludes pertinent information currently associated with the specificaccount regardless whether added by the specific user or by any otherperson or originating elsewhere and shared with the specific user.